RAUTINS m@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-04-30 published
Jamie LAWSON and Leo
RAUTINS -- Match:
By Judith TENENBAUM,
Saturday,April 30, 2005, Page M6
Lyricist Carl Sigman's 1950s classic line, "Many a tear has to
fall, but it's all in the game," could have been Jamie
LAWSON
and Leo RAUTINS's theme song until the two met and their romance
became a slam dunk.
A basketball phenomenon at Saint Michael's College in Toronto,
Mr. RAUTINS was inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of
Fame and played 10 years for Canada's national team. He starred
with the Syracuse University Orangemen and was a first-round
draft choice of the Philadelphia 76ers, for whom he played in
1983-84. Then, after a brief stint with the Atlanta Hawks, his
professional play was in Europe until 1992. A career switch to
broadcasting led to his role as a television analyst for the
Toronto Raptors since their 1995 inception.
Meanwhile, Jamie
LAWSON, a native Texan raised in Memphis, was
growing up the antithesis of a demure southern belle. "I was
very feminine and a pretty little girl, but into sports and competitive,"
she says. "I was upset I was born a girl and really wanted to
be a quarterback."
As a child, she parked in front of her black-and-white television,
captivated by any and every sport, and soon became a trivia buff.
At university, her associate degree in biology had her dreaming
of sports medicine, but a successful dalliance in modelling led
her to recruitment management.
When a mutual friend introduced the pair at Ms.
LAWSON's alma
mater, the University of North Carolina, at a 2001 charity basketball
game, their encounter was definitely a three pointer. "We hit
it off and went for dinner," she says, and it was she who took
Mr. RAUTINS's number. Her 2 a.m. call to his hotel later that
evening had them chatting for four hours. "We started talking
about basketball, and I think I won him over at that point because
I knew more about college basketball than he did, because the
National Basketball Association schedule took so much of his
time," she laughs.
Ms. LAWSON was emerging from a disastrous relationship when they
met, and Mr.
RAUTINS was grappling with a divorce. "Neither one
of us was remotely interested in having a relationship," he says,
"but there was something there, and we became good Friends."
Three weeks later, the tug of attraction, reinforced by a flurry
of phone calls, had a glowing Ms.
LAWSON jetting to Toronto.
"Leo was there for me through a very tough time, and I was there
for him," she says. "It didn't take long to realize that we were
soul mates and meant for each other."
Mr. RAUTINS's celeb status has deflected the spotlight from the
fetching Ms.
LAWSON. "
I've never been with a man who, when we
enter a room, gets more attention than I do," she chuckles. "It's
amusing and a relief. People come up, say hi and turn completely
from me."
Scarcely a year after they met, Ms.
LAWSON was confident enough
in the tenure of their relationship to purchase a Toronto condo
as her base and the couple's time alternated between their residences
here and
in Syracuse, where Mr.
RAUTINS's children live.
"There are no secrets. She knows absolutely everything about
me and vice versa. Those small white lies to avoid problems are
not part of our relationship," Mr.
RAUTINS, 45, says. His children,
20-year-old Michael, Andrew, 16, Jay 14, and five-year-old Sammy
welcomed Ms.
LAWSON as part of their team. "They have extended
themselves to me and opened their hearts," says Ms.
LAWSON, cognizant
that she was "marrying the family."
The couple's journey toward marriage was influenced by the mystique
of black swans they saw together on a visit to a jungle zoo in
Elmvale, Ontario, near Barrie. The swans, which mate for life
in secure family units, embody the commitment that touched a
chord for the pair and provided their wedding theme. The date
for their nuptials, February 19, was scheduled during the National
BasketballAssociation all-star break to accommodate Mr.
RAUTINS's
telecast schedule.
The bridesmaids in black and the best men -- all the bridegroom's
sons -- waited at The Westin Harbour Castle hotel as the couple
approached together on an aisle runner decorated with black swans.
The 5-foot, 7-inch bride, in a bias-cut black silk gown backed
by a subtle train, and her 6-foot, 8-inch bridegroom, in a black
tuxedo and black silk T-shirt, exchanged personal vows in front
of Reverend Bob
HOLMES before an intimate gathering of 60 guests.
At the cocktail reception following, confections by 12 Ohh!cakesions
of two black swans and two basketballs bearing the University
of North Carolina and the University of Syracuse logos, respectively,
continued their theme.
Mrs. LAWSONRAUTINS, 33, has embraced her new vocation as homemaker
to her husband, the boys, and one-year-old Kujo, their boxer
puppy. Mr.
RAUTINS has been named head coach of the senior men's
Canadian national basketball team, which will begin competition
this summer. If the Canadian team has the resolution of Team
RAUTINS, possibilities abound.

REATH m@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-03-05 publishedWEBBER /
REATH
Rick and Ulricke
WEBBER are pleased to announce the engagement
of their daughter Jennifer to Michael
REATH,
son of the late
Barry and the late Catharine
REATH.
The tropical beach wedding
will take place in March 2005 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

REIS m@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-01-22 publishedGILBERT /
REIS
Mr. and Mrs. Larry
NORTON and Mr. and Mrs. Jose
REIS are pleased
to announce the forthcoming marriage of their children Melissa
GILBERT and Carlos
REIS.
The wedding is planned for March 12, 2005.
Lots of Love and Best Wishes from all of us.

RICHARDSON m@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-03-26 publishedRICHARDSON,
Isabelle and Emerson - 65 Amazing Years
April 6, 2005
Come celebrate with family and Friends at an Open House, Saturday,
April 2, 2005 from 2-4 pm at Fairmont United Church, 29 Tweedsmuir
Ave, London. Best wishes only or non-perisable food item for the London Food Bank.

RIZZO m@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-02-26 publishedFRANGOS /
RIZZO
We are pleased to announce the engagement of Sonya
FRANGOS to Philip
RIZZO.
A wedding is planned in October 2005. We wish you both a lifetime
of love and happiness. Love always, the
FRANGOS and
RIZZO families.